Bringing Them Home
by Kitty Kat Mac
Summary: When they went to bring Sasuke back to the village, Shikamaru's team forgot one little thing... And now two very angry kunoichi are on a mission.
1. Birth of a Plan

This idea floated around in my head for a while before making it out into something slightly comprehensive. So here it is.

Summary: When the boys set off to retrieve Sasuke, they forgot to do something very important. Unfortunately, it was important enough to tick off two people who shouldn't be trifled with.

Warnings: Errmm… Angry person foul mouthage, spoilers for waaay past what shows on American television, if you notice something else I've ruined, tell me please.

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Chapter One: The Birth of a Plan 

Tenten stormed through town, her anger in stark contrast with the sunny afternoon. She headed with determination to the Yamanaka flower shop to have a talk with Ino. As she hurried forward, she remembered the conversation that caused her to visit the bubbly blonde in the first place.

_ "Lee, shouldn't you take it a bit easy? You just came outta surgery after all." The dubious kunoichi looked on in worry as her friend and teammate practiced his kicks and punches in his hospital room._

_ "Never, my flowering Tenten! I must become stronger. I promised myself that when Neji returned from his mission I would challenge him to a match." The energetic boy kept jabbing at the empty air in front of him. Tenten however stared at him, her eyes wide and alert._

_ "Mission? Where? What? I didn't know about any mission!" Tenten didn't like this; why would Neji go on a mission without telling her?_

_ "It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing. Uchiha Sasuke ran off this morning to join Orochimaru and Hokage-sama told Shikamaru to gather a group and bring him back. He took Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, and Neji with him."_

_ "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" _

_ "It just now crossed my mind."_

_ "The fact that Neji told you to tell me that he had to leave _just_ now crossed your mind?" Lee finally stopped punching and turned to face Tenten, a look of confusion etched across his face._

_ "He didn't tell me to tell you anything…" She bristled._

_ "He left on a _mission,_ a mission against the _SOUND_ and didn't tell you to tell me?" Lee nodded. "But he made sure you knew where he was going-"_

_ "I was there when Shikamaru found him and asked him to go along." Lee interjected, but Tenten wasn't listening._

_ "Of all the selfish irresponsible, stupid things to do! I'm on his team too whether he cares to acknowledge it or not and him leaving on a mission is something I deserve to know about!" By now Lee was hiding on his bed cowering at the aura of pure fury emanating off of her. "And you say Nara's their leader right?" Lee nodded. "Well then, I need to have a talk with Ino. Later Lee." With those words, Tenten left the hospital room._

"Hey Tenten, you here for more flowers, or just to talk?" Every week since Lee entered the hospital and after Neji fought Naruto, Tenten came by the flower shop to buy a bouquet for her teammates. Over time, the pair had begun talking and formed the beginnings of a friendship.

"Actually Ino, I'm here to ask you a favour."

"Sure thing, you just sit down right here." She cleared off counter space leaving room for the older girl to make herself comfortable. Settling in, Tenten sighed.

"Ino, when Shikamaru gets back, please beat into him the importance of making sure people's teammates know that they're leaving on a mission. It's only fair."

"Hold on sugar, when Shikamaru gets back from _where?_ I didn't know he was gone." Tenten gulped. Apparently Shikamaru was just as bad as Neji. Slowly she relayed the story Lee'd told her watching as Ino started looking as angry and frustrated as she felt.

"Why that pineapple-headed bastard! He took Chouji too? This is the _SOUND_ we're talking about. Orochimaru could find them, kill them, or trap him into working for him! We deserve to know if out team mates are headed on a death mission!" by now, Ino was pacing and brought up worries that Tenten had also thought of while walking.

"My thoughts exactly." She muttered.

"He didn't tell me, he didn't tell you… Screw waiting, I say we go get 'em."

"What?"

"Let's go! We can hunt them down and tell them off without having to wait! Honestly, not taking a few minutes to call your teammates and tell them where you're going. It's irresponsible. We won't get involved unless it's absolutely necessary, we'll be more of an escort or a very angry welcome wagon that meets them along the way. Then when we can light into them along the way back." Ino's eyes were alight with mischief and pride in her idea. After mulling it around in her head for a moment, Tenten grinned.

"I like your style." The two girls thumped knuckles to seal the deal. "Let's go talk to Hinata and see if she wants in." She hopped up and headed for the door. Ino called for her parents to cover for her and followed Tenten out.

Hinata accepted the disgruntled pair into her house and room before they burst out speaking each struggling for dominance, speaking out of turn, and cobbling together the entire story complete with anger and details of the plan. When they finally stopped speaking, Hinata looked shocked. At the situation or the pair, it was uncertain.

"And you want me to come along with you?" The pair nodded.

"You have every right to be angry too." Ino said. Hinata mused it over but shook her head.

"I don't think I'm ready for this kind of thing. I'm still a bit out of it from my hospital stay…" She trailed off but the other two nodded.

"We understand. We'll give you a call when we get 'em back." Tenten said. Hinata nodded and showed them out. "Now we head to the hospital. I need to tell Lee and find out anything else he may have left out." Ino nodded and the two girls took to the rooftops for the quick way to get there. As they ran, they bounced back and forth reasons that their teammates neglected to fill them in.

"They thought we'd want to come along." Ino said.

"I wouldn't want to go along, I just want to know where they are! They probably thought it'd upset us."

"Yeah, they probably thought that we'd have a spaz. Frankly, it could just be because we're girls and they think they're weak."

"After my chuunin match, I wouldn't be surprised." Tenten sighed dejectedly.

When they reached Lee's room, the pair watched with slight amusement as Lee took one look at them both and dove for cover under his bed.

"We aren't here to kill you Lee." Ino said sitting down on a chair.

"You aren't?" The bowl haircut popped out revealing happy and wide eyes.

"No, we aren't but we have some questions." Tenten said from her seat in the window. " First off, are you sure that they went off to fight the Sound?"

"Yes. Sakura tried to stop Sasuke from leaving and he knocked her out. Some of Godaime-san's men found her and she told them everything. She's pretty messed up about it." By now Lee was actually sitting on the bed no longer fearing for his life.

"Ok, so how many are there? Does anyone know?"

"Five according to what I've heard about Raidu and Genma."

"Are they gone too?"

"No, they ran into five Sound-nins on the way back into the country and got severely thrashed. They're in hospital now under the Hokage's care." The two girls exchanged worried looks.

"Seems like we just may get involved after all." Ino said morosely.

"If we make it in time and want them back alive you mean? Then yeah, just a little bit by the sound of things."

"No pun intended?" Ino actually had a slight smile on her face.

"No pun intended." Tenten laughed. Lee looked from one to the other, thoroughly confused.

"Get involved with what? Go where?"

"Lee, we plan on going after them. Initially it was just a selfish idea so that we could give them a well-deserved piece of our minds for leaving us totally in the dark, but now it looks like they may actually need us." Tenten said with a weary sigh. In a flash, Lee was at her feet.

"I'm coming too! I want to prove that I'm still useful!" Ino looked at him uncertainly.

"Lee, you had an operation yesterday. You're in no shape to go tracking sound-nins today."

"Tomorrow." Tenten said. "We leave tomorrow." Both heads turned to her.

"Why not right away?"

"It's getting dark. If we had Kiba's nose or Hinata's Byakuugan, then I'd say tonight, but we wouldn't find anything in the dark and probably lose them." Satisfied by this answer, Lee and Ino nodded. "Lee, Ino and I are going to run supply check at 8:45 a.m. If you can escape by then, you can come along. Lee whooped and hugged Tenten, proclaiming that he would be there in full force. Once plans were settled, the two girls left the hospital to prepare and rest up.

"Why's Lee coming along? He's injured." Ino asked worriedly.

"He has as much to prove to himself and to them as we do. It wouldn't be fair to turn him away." Tenten sighed. "Besides, if we left him, he'd follow us, and that would just create more trouble." Ino nodded and bade her good night as the girls split ways to get ready for the morning's mission.

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That's chapter one. Read and Review constructively please. Feedback is appreciated.

Kitty Kat Mac


	2. Rolling With the Punches

Thanks to the three people who reviewed this! I appreciate it. Tenten and Ino are really just background characters for Kishimoto really does just focus on Team 7 which isn't fair since he created so many developable charaters. I'm really a big Tenten fan and on occasion, I can warm up to Ino too. Sorry I couldn't update earlier, but FFN went wonky on me all week and refused to let me upload documents. But here's Chapter two. This one is for you guys

Hlomondodeli Majoribanks ice illuser tirap 

Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, things would be much different.

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Chapter Two: 

Rolling With the Punches

"Wow, you made it early! I'm impressed." Ino told Lee when he showed up at 8:42 the next morning. The three sat down and opened up weapons pouches and Tenten unwound her scrolls.

"Looks like we're sufficiently armed, and these," She pointed to the four corners of both scrolls. "are first aid kits. I have eight. Since we're girls, Ino and I were both taught basic medical jutsu and after seeing Lee get his ass beat by Neji so many times, I went back to learn a bit more of the intermediate stuff too. We won't be able to bring people back from death, suck out poison or anything extreme, but between the pair of us, we can patch up most wounds and possibly stabilize a bad condition." Ino and Lee nodded. "Now, we need to talk formation."

"Why can't we all just go for it?" Lee asked.

"Because when we return, we can't tell them you came with us." Ino said. She'd obviously thought of it too. "What's the plan boss?" Tenten flushed red.

"Don't call me that. But I figured Lee could travel up front. That way, upon return, we can say he never crossed our path. Plus he's fastest, so he can be the first watch. If he comes upon an enemy, he could engage them and dart out of the way quickly, baffling him and leaving Ino in the middle ready with her mind-transfer jutsu." Ino nodded. "That puts me at the back to keep Ino's body safe and to clean up any loose ends with an unexpected barrage of weapons." Everyone nodded.

"Lee stay ahead of us but don't drift out of Tenten's sight or hearing." Ino stated firmly to the obviously zealous boy. Lee nodded and pumped his fist.

"Let's go!"

"One more thing…" Tenten reached into her pocket. "If for any reason we separate, we have these. Lee, I picked up yours and filled your sister in on where we're going. She wants you back alive." She handed out the three radios. "Ino, you get mine so that Neji can't say I loaned his to a stranger." She said as she fastened the strap around her neck.

"So we're all set then?" Ino asked. The others nodded. "Then let's head out. Lee, which way did you see them go yesterday?" Lee pointed and they took off in the direction.

"You're pretty good at this." Ino called back to Tenten as they ran through the tree branches.

"Good at what?"

"What you did back there. Seeing the angles, the loopholes to keep us out of trouble, all that. How'd you manage to loose your chuunin battle?" Tenten sighed.

"I think that after the forest of death, I started to doubt myself and whether or not I could handle having the lives of my fellow shinobi in my hands. There were other ways I could have handled that battle. I could have found a way to disable Temari's fan and bring the fight to close range combat. I just think that my fears got to me and subconsciously I sabotaged myself." Ino nodded.

"Fear is OK, just don't let it stand in your way. I mean, would Lee be on this mission with us if fear took control of him?" She asked with a grin gesturing towards the green blur struggling to check his pace.

"I guess not."

"You'll make a great ninja, starting with leading this mission."

"For the final time! I'm not the leader!" Tenten's face was red. Ino shrugged.

"Whatever you say…"

"Besides, by the way you handled yourself with that chakra binding hair thing you did, you're pretty situation savvy too!" Ino preened at the complement.

"Thanks, it was actually a spur of the moment freak out." Lee calling back to them interrupted the conversation.

"I see a battle sight coming up ahead! Should we stop and take a look or pass it by?" Tenten thought it over.

"We're stopping! It probably can give us signs of what they're up against!" So a few minutes later, they all stopped, the girls careful to remain steppes behind Lee.

"They weren't here." Ino said after a moment. The others nodded in agreement.

"No claw marks in the ground…"

"No craters…"

"No tracks…" They all listed one at a time. It was true. According to the team Shikamaru put together, all of these traits would betray the battleground as theirs. In fact, the only markings were scars in the trees no bigger than kunai and as Lee inspected on area, he saw something interesting.

"We have prints here." The girls landed near him and looked as well.

"Pig hooves…" Tenten mused.

"Ton-ton! Shizune-san's piggy!" Ino gasped. Looking to determine the direction the tracks came from, they assessed which way to head.

"It looks like they were on the way back to the village and got drawn into a battle." Tenten said. "Lee, how badly were Raidu and Genma's injuries?"

"Pretty bad. They were unconscious when they arrived at the hospital." The three genin blanched at the thought of how severe the situation truly was.

"All right, then let's step it up!" Tenten called. They put on an extra burst of speed and it wasn't but for another hour and a half before Lee called back again,

"Coming up on another battle site! I see broken booby traps, set off or disabled, I'm not sure. I see a huge hole in the ground!" Ino looked at Tenten.

"We are stopping right?"

"Natch." They all slowed down and surveyed the damage.

"There are claw marks inside this crater and it's far too big for the Kaiten to have made it." Tenten said squatting down in the wreckage.

"Kunai holes in the trees and in the ground, some with scorch marks!" Ino called over.

"Tracks in the dirt leading that way." Lee's observation was most definitive. They followed the tracks, noting that the wreckage of the surrounding flora got wider in diameter.

"This was Chouji's work." Ino said. "But why is there no mark of anyone else?" Soon the answer didn't matter as they all came upon a horrific sight. Chouji and another ninja lay in the dirt. The stranger had no sign of life.

"CHOUJI!" Ino screamed. Lee took off ahead of her for the sake of the truth but the distressed blonde nearly outran him. He was frightfully thin and breathing very shallow. Tenten whipped out the scrolls and produced a first aid kit. Ino began working right away patching up the smaller wounds.

"Is he breathing?" Lee asked.

"Barely. I'm taking him back."

"WHAT? Ino? The mission…" Tenten stuttered out slowly.

"Screw the mission. I can yell at Shikamaru later. Bring him and the others back so that I can kill him double for this." Ino said firmly tears brimming in her eyes. Walking past Chouji to the unfamiliar ninja, Ino swiftly cut off his head to return to the Hokage. Looking at her, you could tell she was more than angry; she was hurt and distressed. Picking up Chouji's body, Ino looked at Tenten and clicked on her radio.

"Keep in touch with me. I want to know how it turns out." The others nodded and switched on their radios too. "You keep up the good work boss. I'll see ya back at the village." She and Tenten thumped knuckles sadly before Ino departed.

"Well Lee, It's just you and me now, let's get going." He nodded and they took off. As they ran, they noticed something interesting.

"Yo, Ino!" Tenten called into her radio.

"What?"

"Chouji must have gone out on his own because there are arrows and notes carved into the trees leading the way and telling him to hurry along. They obviously didn't want to leave him behind." Over the wire Ino was heard giving a laugh.

"Good to know."

Tenten and Lee raced through the treetops at a near blinding pace, but after a bit Tenten called out,

"Lee, stop! Someone else is around here!" The pair skidded to a halt and began walking side by side in the direction Tenten felt chakra emanating from. At the scene awaiting them, they both suddenly understood what Ino felt at the last battle site. An unknown form lay dead on the ground and another unknown was moving towards…

"Neji…" Lee gasped in shock. Tenten immediately took action. Within a flash, she pulled out half a dozen Senbon and flung them at the stranger.

"Back away from him." She demanded as the body went down. From the bushes nearby, a voice rang out.

"I'm glad I send Crow out to take a look first. That didn't look comfortable." Lee and Tenten watched in shock as Kankurou emerged and inspected his puppet. "Every needle hit a vital spot. Geez you're good." He said in awe inspecting the damage. Ignoring his comments, Tenten collected her weapons from the puppet and then walked over to where Neji lay.

"There's a really big wound here, and very little chakra flow. He's breathing, but barely. I can handle the flesh wound and blood, but nothing more." She pulled out the first aid kit and got to work.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Kankurou asked. Lee quickly filled him in on Tenten and Ino's original plan and the new twists.

"The question is why are you here. The Sand and The Leaf are enemies aren't they?" He shook his head.

"No. They've come to peace. The Sand wasn't exactly thrilled to find out that The Sound duped us. So my siblings and I were sent out to help. We split up a while back to cover ground."

"Well then, you and Lee can go on ahead. I'm taking Neji back." Lee looked at her in shock.

"You're leaving too?"

"I can't leave him to die out here. I'm taking him home." She asserted firmly. As she lifted Neji onto her back, she remembered something about muscle being heavier than fat and made note to add that to her list of things to yell at him about. Just like Ino, she beheaded the dead ninja. She also took off his forehead protector. "Trophy." She said when Lee and Kankurou arched an eyebrow at her. She went to her radio. "Ino-chan!"

"Yeah?"

"Where are you?"

"About half way back from where we began."

"Wait up for me. I'm coming back too. I found Neji." Ino's breath hitched over the wire.

"I'll wait." Tenten nodded.

"Lee, go with Kankurou. Keep in touch by radio and tell me if there are any developments." Lee nodded.

"Ok, boss."

"Don't call me that!" Tenten shrieked. "And one more thing: Don't forget to take your medicine tomorrow." Lee nodded and Tenten took off. As she left, she heard Kankurou behind her say:

"She's scary."

Tenten took off through the woods a bit slower than she would have liked because she didn't want to jostle Neji too much. Passing back through Chouji's battlefield, she saw the headless body with its forehead protector around the waist. Stopping for only a moment, she severed it and stuffed it in her pocket. It wasn't long before Tenten felt Ino's chakra and slowed down to meet her friend.

"Hey. He looks bad." Ino said softly.

"Brought ya something." Tenten pulled out the hitai-ate and handed it over.

"What's this for?"

"Trophy. If they pull through, commemoration of their greatest battles yet. If they don't…" Both girls stopped and sighed.

"I can't imagine Chouji dying. He's my teammate and friend." Ino muttered as they started off together. "I want to think positively, but it's impossible given the circumstances."

"Then think selfishly. They have to pull through. Not because they need to live, or because they're our friends, but because we have to bitch them out for leaving without telling." Ino nodded.

"I feel horrible. I was so mean to Chouji after I failed out of the Chuunin exams. After Asuma-sensei asked him to help Shikamaru train, I felt so useless. I said really mean things about his eating out of anger. I realize that his family uses jutsu based on metabolism and that he needs to eat. But I took out my frustration on him and now look where it got me. He's nearly dead and I never knew he was leaving in the first place!" The blonde was near tears and Tenten rubbed her arm.

"It'll be alright. He'll live, the others will come home, and we can make them feel our pain." Ino smiled bravely through the tears and picked up her pace a bit. It wasn't much longer before they reached the village. Once again, the rooftop became the route to the hospital but this time, to keep the people from seeing the boys in their horrible conditions. At the hospital, Tsunade was walking through the front of the lobby when the girls burst in.

"What's going on here?" The Hokage asked in shock looking at the pair. The girls struggled out the story, both fighting back tears and making very sure to leave out Lee. They also handed over the enemy heads. Tsunade nodded when they were done and paged for gurneys and exam rooms. Once they were taken away, she placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Ladies, you two make quite the tracker-nins. You have bright futures ahead." Neither girl said anything to the complement and just looked dejected. "The pair of you are rather justified in your anger at your teammates. I understand what it's like working with boys. They sometimes don't remember to think outside of their own pride in those kinds of situations. I'll make sure they pull through to get what's coming to them." The girls smiled as Tsunade turned to care for her newest patients.

"Hokage-sama!" Tenten called.

"Yes?"

"We promised Hinata that we would call when we returned. May we use the phone?"

"I need to call Chouji's family too." Ino said softly. Tsunade nodded and went to care for the boys leaving the two girls to their tasks.

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Another chapter down! Hope you still like! 


	3. Telling Them the Truth

I'm back! This isn't a 4th of July present or anything, this is an I-don't-have-to-get-up-for-work-at-6:15-and-come-home-wiped present! Surprisingly, a few people are enjoying this and I'm glad. Thanks to Trenchcoatgirl-Kyo for the latest review.

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Chapter Three

Telling Them the Truth

"How long have they been in there?" Ino grumbled. The red light indicating a procedure underway glared down at them in the waiting room.

"Long time." Tenten grumbled back. No word had come from Lee and Kankurou and none came from the Hokage. Finally a distraction came in the form of Gai-sensei walking in.

"Tenten! Our beloved flower! At least you are safe from harm!" The pinging made both girls twitch in annoyance.

"What does that mean?" She snapped. Just because she was the girl didn't mean she couldn't take care of herself.

"Neji's gone on his mission, Lee's escaped with Hokage-sama's sake bottle, so at least one of our team is safe." Tenten stiffened up at the thought. Next to her she felt Ino staring at her. She looked back with a 'not around the grown-ups' face. Once Gai left in his dramatic tears, Tenten turned to Ino with a giggle.

"So if Lee comes up in a fight anytime soon, someone's in for a world full of hurt." Ino looked at her questioningly. "Lee is a natural master of drunk-fu, and a mean drunk at that. He tore apart an entire restaurant the first and only time I've seen him drink. He's a lightweight to boot. Anyone who comes up against him, so long as he takes his 'medication,' is so fucking screwed." Tenten's eyes were full of mirthful tears. Ino looked at her.

"And this makes you happy?"

"Of course! He's with Kankurou and will eventually get drunk! I have every faith that he's gonna be ok." Ino groaned.

"At least someone seems safe…"

It was well past midnight when a weary but satisfied Tsunade came out to talk to the heavy-lidded girls.

"They're going to pull through just fine. They're lucky that you found them. Make sure to rub it in when they wake up." She said with a half grin.

"When'll that be?" Ino asked groggily through a yawn.

"Noon at the earliest. I've medicated them with a potion to speed up their chakra reformation and another one to allow them to rest through the night. The two of you go home and get some comfortable rest." The pair nodded wearily and stood up slowly, their joints popping and bones creaking from sitting on a stiff hospital waiting room chair. Weary and now worried about Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto, they headed out.

"Hey, come stay at my place tonight. Neither of us needs to sleep with no one to talk to if the nightmares hit." Tenten smiled gratefully.

"Lemme just go to my place and get a few things." Within half an hour, Tenten was sitting in the Yamanka kitchen, a steaming cup of chamomile in hand, with Ino across the table. The pair drank in silence, their unspoken worries hanging in the air between them. They trudged up the stairs to Ino's room when done and Tenten unrolled a sleeping mat while Ino climbed into bed. The pair bade each other good night and drifted off into troubled sleeps filled with dreams of horrific consequences.

"Dammit, those guys better come back alive so we can put them through hell for worrying us like this." Tenten's eyes were heavy with bluish circles beneath them as she poured coffee for them both the next morning.

"Damn skippy." Ino croaked back as she made eggs. When breakfast was over, they headed back to the hospital where Shizune greeted them.

"Morning ladies."

"Morning. No word on the three then?"

"None." The other two nodded and headed back to the wing. Once they reached the two rooms, they split up each to her respective teammate's room, but not before having a last briefing.

"I'll listen for the screams." Tenten said.

"Me too."

"Remember, Tsunade-sama's instructions remain that we hit the call button when they wake up. So no matter how much fun we're having…"

"Yeah, yeah. We have to stop and call. Gotcha there." They split, each to her room and waited.

Chouji awoke first. Ino looked up from the chair she was sitting in when she heard the groan from across the room. Her eyes widened happily as she bolted to the bedside.

"Chouji, you're awake!" He looked at her confusedly; the room swimming in and out of focus as the sudden and unfamiliar feel of chakra flowing through his body took hold of him slightly.

"Ino-chan? Why are you here?" Chouji failed to notice Ino's fingers clutching the bed sheet.

"Why am I here? _WHY AM I HERE?_ I'm here Chouji Akamichi because you **RAN OFF** on a possible death mission without telling me! What the hell is your problem? Do you know how worried I was when Tenten told me? And to hear it from Tenten was worse! She's pretty damn upset too seeing as how Neji left without bothering to tell her." Ino's eyes narrowed and she gesticulated to prove her point. "That's bad enough, but **NOOOOOO**! _Both_ of my team mates saw fit to just leave bothersome little Ino in the dark! Is that what I am to you, a bother who wouldn't care if you don't come home from a mission?" Chouji opened his mouth and started to reply but Ino waved her hands.

"Don't answer that. It'll only make me angrier. I mean, did you think at all that as your team mate, as your friend, I would care I mean really? Or did your pride that Shikamaru asked you along on the mission just make you that stupid?" Chouji cowered as the fiery girl lit into him leaving him no way to defend himself. Ino's screams terrorized him as he listened helplessly.

Next door, Tenten smirked at the shrieks emanating from the next room. "Sounds like Chouji woke up." She snickered.

"What the hell is that racket?" Neji's crabby voice turned her face from the window she sat in and her smile to a frown.

"So you're awake then."

"Tenten? Where am I?" Though relieved that Neji was awake, the feeling was quickly replaced by anger.

"You're in Konoha Hospital. Tsunade-san took care of you. Now that I've answered your question, I have a few for you." Neji couldn't tell what was worse. The screeching next door or the even razor edge to Tenten's scarily calm voice. In spite of himself, Neji gulped.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving on a mission?" Neji blinked before he answered.

"I didn't think-"

"Damn right you didn't think!" She was yelling now as she walked over and hit the call button. "You didn't think that I would notice, that I would worry, that I would care, which is it?"

"Um…"

"Or was it because you thought I'd want to tag along? If I did that, I'd get in the way, drag you guys down or cause trouble right? Am I too weak to know what's going on? Well, which one is it? Don't just stare at me like that!" She shrieked glaring expectedly at him.

"Well, it all happened so fast…"

"Right. Too fast to stop during weapons check and say 'Hey Lee, make sure to tell Tenten where I've gone.' You know, your TEAMMATE? He wouldn't have even told me had it not just _happened_ to cross his mind. Had you died out there, I wouldn't have even known you were gone in the first place!" She stopped to breathe a moment and listened for Ino. She couldn't hear her, but didn't know what it meant.

"I don't think Hokage-sama would appreciate you yelling at me that way." Neji's voice was smug.

"Actually, my only rule was that she make sure to hit the call button when you woke up, and she's done that." Both turned to face Tsunade as she entered the room. Seconds later, Ino's voice started back up next door.

Tsunade began checking Neji over, testing his vision, asking him to activate his Byakuugan and checking the spot with the wound. Once she pronounced him in decent health save getting some much needed bed rest, Neji asked,

"How did I get here?" Tsunade grinned impishly.

"You shouldn't ask me." Neji looked at her confusedly.

"You're damn heavy Hyuuga. I think you deserve to know that." Tenten's voice came from the window where she sat allowing the Hokage to check Neji over without hindrance.

"You brought me back?"

"Talk slowly. He's still a bit groggy." Tsunade said as she left the room.

"Yes. I brought you back. Ino made the suggestion that we find you and escort you all home just for the sake of making sure you were in one piece for us to bitch out. Plans changed a bit when we came across you and Chouji however. Lee went on ahead."

"You took Lee with you? _Lee_, who just had surgery?"

"Don't take that tone with me. I had the decency to tell Lee where I was going and he insisted on coming. Tell the Hokage about it and even the gentle fist won't protect you from me." For a moment, Neji actually feared Tenten.

"You never did answer me."

"What?" Neji was still confused.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME? You were facing the SOUND and you didn't tell me you were leaving!"

"Well, I mean, I didn't think of you and…"

"So that's it then? Out of sight out of mind? Some way to treat a teammate Neji. Or are you still stuck on your own brilliance that the rest of us just disappear? I mean you wouldn't have told Lee had he not been right there. For someone who's got such perfect eyes, you really are blind Hyuuga Neji." Before he could answer, Shizune knocked on the door.

"Neji-san, your family is here to see you." Neji nodded. Before she left, Tenten pulled the Sound-nin's hitai-ate from her pocket and tossed it to Neji.

"Trophy from your great life threatening battle. Ino and I brought the heads back for the ANBU to analyze." With that she left, catching up with Ino in the hall.

"Neji's family here too?" Tenten nodded. "I'm still pissed off, but I'm also starving. Wanna get some lunch?"

"Sure." As they passed through the waiting room, they waved to Hinata who was filing in with her family.

"We have to bring Chouji back some too. Hospital food isn't exactly conducive to his jutsu." Tenten nodded happily.

"Ok, so how did it go?" Tenten asked once they received their bowls of food at Ichiraku ramen stall.

"I think I scared Chouji nearly witless screaming at him. It's really the first time I've yelled at him over something other than his food intake." Ino chuckled as she slurped a bowl of Ramen.

"Oh I'd never yelled at Neji _ever_ before today. If I actually got through to that thick genius skull of his, I would be thoroughly shocked." Tenten choked out laughing. Ino joined her as they settled in for their first meal in two days in which they didn't feel like the _entire _world was crumbling beneath their feet.

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Hope you like it! I have one more chapter to go. I really don't know which chapter I liked writing more: this one or the next one. Having two underloved characters chew out their team mates made me giggle (A LOT). Hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing! 

Kitty Kat Mac


	4. You Don't Know Fear!

I held off on this for an extra week because sadly, it's the last chapter. But thank you for all the reviews. Raiining reviewed! That made me totally giggly because she's reviewed my HP stuff, and it was just a happy surprise to see it. Thanks! Ok, on with the final chapter!

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Chapter Four 

You Don't Know Fear!

When lunch was over, the pair, in slightly better spirits, grabbed a beef ramen to go for Chouji and headed back to the hospital. Ino insisted they use the back door because if Tsunade saw them bring 'unhealthy' food for Chouji, she wouldn't let them in. As they entered the hall from the opposite end, they noticed a lot of commotion around them.

"Excuse me miss, what's going on?" Ino asked a med-nin quickly.

"The rest of that genin search party returned. Most of them are in pretty bad condition." The two girls stared at one another and went to find Tsunade.

"Hokage-san!" The girls found her half way down the hall.

"What happened? Is everyone all right? Did they bring back Sasuke?" Ino asked hurriedly. Tsunade shook her head sadly.

"Sasuke's gone. He's betrayed the village and gone to find Orochimaru for power. Don't mention it when you talk to them."

"Don't worry about it. Everything we have to say has nothing to do with the outcome of the mission, just everything before it." Tenten assured. Tsunade nodded.

"Just give Temari a chance to finish talking to him and then you can go on ahead." Ino stiffened next to Tenten who held the back of her partner's clothes in restraint. "And Tenten, if you see Gaara, thank him. He brought Lee back." Tenten nodded dumbly as Tsunade passed them to handle her newest charges.

"Hey, you made it back! We were just gonna get Temari and go." Kankurou's voice turned both girls around in shock. He and Gaara stood there waiting to get by. Forgetting all common sense, Tenten threw her arms around Gaara.

"Thank you so much! You brought him back!" She said hugging the younger boy tightly. Gaara looked at her oddly but grunted,

"I owed it to him seeing as how I nearly killed him and all."

"I'm still grateful." She said with a grin. Gaara blushed. He wasn't used to genuine affection, so this was a slightly new development to him. Luckily his brother came to his rescue.

"Here. I brought this back for you. The battery died other wise we'd have checked in when Lee and I split up. But he did mention that he would remember to take his medication." The two girls giggled at that and Kankurou continued. "They're all going to turn out all right, so don't worry. And you Tenten, you are quite the scary force to deal with. Lee told me about the entire operation and the anger you two feel at your team mates. I must say I never want to get on your bad side." And without warning, he laid a delicate kiss on Tenten's cheek. Ino and Tenten were both in shock and she nodded.

"Thank you?" She squeaked out uncertainly.

"What's going on here?" Neji's voice from the doorway caused Tenten to whirl around and turn red. Had he just seen that? "Are the others back? Why are _you_ here?" He asked glaring sharply from Tenten to Kankurou. She gulped. Yeah, he saw that. (A/N: I know this isn't a NejiTen story, but I just _had_ to add the jealous Neji moment.)

"They're back. I'm going to make a chuunin cry now." As she attempted to pass around the Sand brothers to escape her suspicious team mate, she saw Temari heading their way and stopped cold. The older girl looked her up and down.

"My brother speaks very highly of your marksmanship. He's a pretty big judge of skill and I can respect that assessment." Tenten nodded her face slightly red and shook her hand.

"Thanks. You're pretty good too."

"We gonna go make 'im cry now?" Ino asked coming back up to Tenten. "I decided while you were busy, I'd drop off Chouji's food before it got too cold. He's elated."

"Ok, let's go make a chuunin weep." Tenten said gleefully as they waved goodbye and good luck to the retreating sand siblings.

Shikamaru sat alone in the waiting room. After he'd explained his fear of his team mates dying more than his fear of failing the mission and Temari chewed him out, he was feeling pretty low. When approaching footsteps brought Tenten and Ino into view, he smiled and gave the blonde a hug.

"Ino I'm really glad to see you right now. How have you been?" Behind her, Tenten giggled.

"Bad question." She muttered.

"How have I been? How could you ask such a stupid question Shikamaru? How have I been? I've been a fucking wreck!" She shrieked pushing him away from her. "Imagine how I _must have been_ when Tenten told me that you'd left on a mission to the Sound. Granted, she didn't know either, she found out like a few minutes before I did. You couldn't think with that 200+ IQ of yours that I would worry? What is it, were you afraid I'd ask you to come along because clearly I'm too much of a burden to inform properly!" By now Ino was waving a kunai discreetly slipped to her by Tenten to terrorise him. Shikamaru blanched at the weapon and backed away. "Didn't you realize I'd worry? Both you and Chouji just pick up and go on something so dangerous, not a word out of either of you! Not to mention taking Tenten's team mate and Hinata's cousin and team mate without so much as a thought that 'hey, you may not return, you should tell your team mates and families.'" Tenten knew that that was her cue to join in. Using a senbon as her instrument of fear, she advanced on him as well.

"Honestly Shikamaru, you're really irresponsible to not think that I'd worry. I've got one team mate injured as it is, what on Earth would make me think that knowing another could die is any form of sensible? Tell me, what right do I have at all to know where my team mate is?"

"Do you know how freaked out we were when we found Chouji and Neji in such a bad condition especially since we had no idea what to expect since you didn't tell us anything? Well lemme tell you it was heart wrenching." Ino picked back up again.

"Like a really bad punch in the stomach." Tenten offered up.

"Exactly. We're the ones who had to drag them back here in near dead condition. So if you want to make it to your Jounin days, you will not,"

"Ever,"

"Take a team with our team mates out of this village without our knowledge again! Do you hear me?" The pair finished off screaming. Shikamaru 'eeped' terrified and nodded mutely as the very angry kunoichi loomed over him. The pair seemed to deflate now that the pineapple-headed chuunin had gotten the message. Once sure, weapons returned to their hiding places and smiles appeared.

"So, your first chuunin mission." Ino said with pride.

"How does it feel?" Tenten asked. Shikamaru glanced at them as if expecting a trap to lie within the sudden mood swing as he began fielding their questions.

"So, you think we could ever get assigned something that important?" Tenten asked Ino as they left the hospital for the night. They had visited everyone though Naruto and Kiba were not awake; they waited for Kiba to come out of OR before heading home for the night.

"You kidding? We're capable of that and so much more if we put our minds to it. I'm just waiting for the day we get missions together as chuunin. The enemy won't know what hit 'em." Ino said with a grin as they paused under a streetlight where they would part to separate domiciles.

"I look forward to that day Ino. Just so you know, if you ever need me for threats, training or otherwise…"

"I know. Ditto me too. I'm glad the exams and the aftermath gave us a chance to become friends."

"Me too Ino. I'll see ya tomorrow at the hospital then?"

"I'm looking forward to it." The two girls said goodnight and gave each other high five before turning to her own home. To each, it felt good to know that being the female team mate of a genius would not remain something undergone alone. And if need be, there was someone with similar problems willing to help bring the genius back to his senses.

-_Fin_-

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I'm sad that this story's over, but I liked writing it and I'm glad everyone who enjoyed it did. I've got another story brewing for them in my mind, and I think it may turn out pretty funny if I get it together. Happy ficcing everyone!

Kitty Kat Mac


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